Prepping For Mandatory Quarantine: Now is the Time to Prepare

When there is a concern for dangerous communicable diseases spreading, the CDC activates pandemic mitigation measures. Quarantines can last anywhere from days to months depending on the severity of the contagion. Now is the time to plan and prepare for this type of disaster.

No doubt many of you have heard of the confirmation by the CDC that an Ebola victim was admitted to the Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas. Response teams were deployed to the Dallas area shortly after the announcement to watch individuals who the patient may have come in contact with. Dr. Tom Freiden, director of the CDC states, “Once those contacts are all identified, they’re all monitored for 21 days after exposure to see if they develop a fever.” If they do develop symptoms, then they will be placed in isolation to prevent further spread of the disease.

It is entirely possible that our world leaders waited too long in responding to the Ebola outbreak. To date, the outbreak in West Africa has sickened more than 6,000 people and killed 3,083, and experts believed it was only a matter of time before the virus hit closer to home. My question is if the experts knew it was only a matter of time, why have they not provided any actionable information or advice to the American public? It is not my intention to evoke hysteria, but creating emergency care facilities, the state department purchasing 160,000 Ebola Hazmat suits, government officials contacting funeral homes and advising them how to prepare corpses that are infected with Ebola, but not providing information to the public other than to wash our hands and stay calm is a great disservice.

Now is the Time to Prepare

When there is a concern for dangerous communicable diseases spreading, the CDC activates pandemic mitigation measures. Among these measures are: isolation and quarantines. These are the first steps in protecting the public by preventing exposure to infected persons or to persons who may be infected. Social distancing measures will follow in order to reduce further contact between the community. Quarantines can last anywhere from days to months depending on the severity of the contagion. Mandatory quarantines are backed up by laws and executive orders.

The official CDC website details ‘Specific Laws and Regulations Governing the Control of Communicable Diseases’, that even healthy citizens who have no existing symptoms would be forced to adhere to. Additionally, an executive order signed by President Obama at the end of July also allows for the “apprehension, detention, or conditional release of individuals to prevent the introduction, transmission, or spread of suspected communicable diseases.”

Prepping For a Quarantine

At the very least, a mandatory quarantine would last as long as the contagion exists in the community. Therefore, plan on having at the very least one month’s worth of supplies. The three day mandatory quarantines that occurred in Sierra Leone resulted in food shortages in many parts of the country because the citizens were not prepared. Now is the time to prepare your homes and your families for riding out this type of disaster.

This type of disaster is very unique in that you will not be able to run to the store if your supplies run out. A mandatory quarantine of this nature will require that the roads are clear of anything other than non-essential travel. Further, the shops and stores that you are dependent on will no longer be available; therefore, you need to have everything in place before mitigation measures are activated.

Ensure that your family has enough food and water to sit out an extended event. Understand your community’s role in pandemic preparedness and find out their protocols. Further, do some research on previous quarantine events to inform yourself on what to expect. Some other suggestions are:

Never touch your face with your hands. Your hands by default will be the most likely area of your body to contain infected debris.

Make a plan. Daisy Luther provides an excellent template for creating a pandemic plan. Further, to prepare for a pandemic event, if you plan on bugging out, do it before the quarantine measures are placed. Talk with country cousins about staying with them for the duration or begin fixing up any remote properties in preparation for a long term pandemic event.

Make preparations and discuss with family members the family’s pandemic plan.

Have some entertainment available to family members: board games, books, art supplies, etc.

For those with special needs, ensure that you have supplies ready for them (infants, elderly, handicapped, etc.).

Prepare a sick room for the home to limit family member’s exposure to the virus. If someone in the house is infected, then the person needs to be segregated to a room of the house and that room needs to be sealed off from the rest of the home either using plastic sheeting or duct taped closed with limited interaction from other family members.

Consider all items coming in from the outside to be contaminated and should be washed with antibacterial soap or a chlorine mix before handling with bare hands. Therefore, any item you pick up after the emergency starts need to be handled accordingly.

Seal air leaks in your home. All it takes is one particle of infectious material to doom your whole family. Since you will be indoors with not alot to do, do this.
Any time you come into near contact with anybody who is infected, you will need a shower. This is not an option.

All common items in the house should be disinfected after use regardless if anyone is sick. The kitchen and bathrooms should be meticulously cleaned after use.

If a family member dies in quarantine, seal off the room until professionals can deal with it. Don’t risk it. If you decide to take matters into your own hands, Wear long pants and long sleeves. Tuck your sleeves into your gloves. Dig your grave prior to moving the body. Spray the areas of the body you intend to touch with your bleach solution and wait 10 minutes before touching the body. Avoid touching the torso and head of the deceased person and only touch the disinfected extremities. Disinfect you clothing and shower after the operation is complete.

Looters and crime waves can occur during this so ensure you have a means to protect yourself and your preps.

Stay isolated until quarantine is lifted.

In the event you have no choice but to leave your home, Mac Slavo recommends the following:

If you’re forced to exit your home, you’re going to want to be fully protected, and that includes covering your hands, eyes, nose, and mouth.

In addition to the N-95 respirator masks, you may also consider upgrading to the more expensive N-100 respirators recommended by the World Health Organization.

Or, go with a full facemask. Insofar as your preparedness efforts are concerned, you may also be able to kill two birds with one stone here and go with a full face mask that includes NBC (Nuclear, Biological, Chemical) protection like the US-made NATO SGE 400/3 Military Gas Mask. If going with such a mask, be sure to include some NBC filters.